Santa Margherita Ligure

Welcome to the #RivieraSeries! During a week in July, I was fortunate enough to travel along the Italian Riviera and cross off several bucket list locations. Each post in this series will focus on an individual town (or set of towns: Cinque Terre). In today's post I will be focusing on the underrated Santa Margherita Ligure. I hope this will not only be informative but will also inspire you to finally start accomplishing your bucket list goals!

Santa Margherita Ligure is Portofino’s lesser-known neighbour, but still beautiful nonetheless. I may even be brave enough to say that it supersedes Portofino’s beauty.

My little sister and I stayed in Sabini Apartments, a well located hotel at a reasonable price (£370 for four nights) considering other hotels in the area were quoting upwards of £600 for four nights. As a family-run establishment, Sabini Apartments had a homely feel and the customer service was second-to-none. I would definitely recommend staying in Santa Margherita Ligure if you want to visit other towns along the Italian Riviera. Accommodation prices are much cheaper here compared to Portofino and Cinque Terre. From Santa Margherita you can take the bus #82 for 20 minutes straight to Portofino. This will set you back a whopping 2 EUR (spot the sarcasm). Or, if you’re feeling fancy and would like a journey with a view, opt for the ferry from Santa Margherita to Portofino for 7 EUR one way or 12 EUR return. You can find the bus and ferry timetables here.

Whilst strolling through Santa Margherita Ligure, we reached the coastline and saw an array of sea-front bars and restaurants. It was a tough choice but we finally settled on a restaurant called Kicks Santa Margherita. The waiter was welcoming and we were greeted with bread and limoncello before even ordering! Both my sister and I opted for the spaghetti with clams, mussels, shrimp, prawns and octopus (pictured below). Thinking about this meal weeks later and I am literally salivating. This was the best pasta dish that I have ever had. All of the seafood was remarkably fresh. With each bite I could literally taste the sea, unbelievable. This amazing meal cost us 14 EUR each! Insane.

How does one relieve themselves of a carb-induced coma? Get some gelato. We popped into Gelaterie Gepi and I got a medium cup of stracciatella ice cream for 3.50 EUR - yum!

Now time for the actual carb-killer. We walked up hill (along multiple, multiple stairs) to my future wedding venue, Villa Durazzo. Entry to the gardens is completely free! This picturesque garden (almost literally) blew my wig away with it’s panoramic views of Santa Margherita Ligure. I have already told all my friends to save their coins as my wedding will be held on these grounds. I’ll let them know sooner or later once I’ve found a husband. Every corner of Villa Durazzo is different. One section has a beautiful monochrome tiled floor contrasted with a rich terracotta and cream building. Another section is filled with palm trees (my weakness) and delightful greenery. Villa Durazzo is a must-visit and the perfect photo spot.

Villa Durazzo is a Ligurian hidden treasure. Built in 1678 as a summer residence for the Durazzo family, the grand villa overlooks the Gulf of Tigullio. In the 19th century, the villa was sold to Prince Centurion, who built the outbuildings and outlined the Italian Garden.

On another day during the trip after visiting Portofino, we stopped by Soleado Cafe in Santa Margherita for a quick drink. I ordered a frozen strawberry daiquiri (for 9 EUR) and wow, just wow. This was the first strawberry daiquiri I've had that was actually blended with real strawberries. With each sip, I could taste the chunky bits of sweet strawberry and also the very punchy rum (I'm not complaining...). The lovely waiter also brought a huge bread, cheese and prosciutto platter (pictured below) to our table which turned out to be complementary! A great surprise. I would definitely recommend Soleado Cafe for some drinks whilst the day is winding down and the sun is setting.

If you plan to visit Santa Margherita in the near or distant future, I do hope this blog post pushes you to book that flight! I will now leave you with some miscellaneous photos from Santa Margherita, can't let them go to waste! Happy roaming!